Shim plate



May 2, 939.

E. G. NYLANDER 2,157,005

SHIM PLATE Filed May 3, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l A rfa, I IZ vNiay 2, 1939.E G NYLANDER 2,157,005

SHIM PLATE Filed May 5, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 2, 1939UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHIMI PLATE Application May 3, 1937, SerialNo. 140,445

7 Claims.

This invention relates to railway trucks, and more particularly to meansfor maintaining required coupler heights by compensating for wearbetween center plates, wear on the wheel treads and other truck and carparts.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of new and improvedmeans for elevating the bolsters of railway trucks for maintaining thecouplers of the cars at a predetermined height above the rails.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a new and improvedmetallic shim adapted to be employed in connection with a springassembly for vertically adjusting the bolster of a railway truck,whereby the coupler may be maintained at a predetermined height.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a new and improvedsectional shim together With novel means for securing the sections inposition beneath the truck bolster.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a new and improvedshim member that is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture,eflicient in operation, easily and readily applied, and that may befirmly held in position when applied.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will appearfrom the following specication and accompanying drawings, in which- Fig.1 is a side elevation of a railway truck, with parts broken away, partsin section, and parts omitted for the sake of clearness, showing theinvention in position therein;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig, 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a modied form of the invention; and

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional View showing the use of a plurality ofshims.

After being in use for some time, wear between center plates, wear onwheel treads, together with the wear on other parts of the car, resultsin the permanent lowering of the superstructure, and

with it the coupler. In order to meet the requirements of the A. A. R.regulations, it is necessary either to renew the parts or to providesome means for elevating the coupler to the required height above therails.

The present invention seeks to remedy this difficulty by the lattermethod, by providing means that may be readily and easily applied with aminimum amount of time and labor, and without dismantling or removingthe spring assembly.

Referring now to the drawings, the reference (Cl. 10S-197) character IIl designates a side frame of a railway truck having a bolster openingII therein, in which is vertically slidable the end of the bolster I 2,which in turn is supported by a spring assembly I3 in an enlargement ofthe lower portion of the opening II. 'Ihe bolster I2 is provided withguides I4, which slidably engage the columns I5 at each side of theopening I I, as is usual in such constructions.

The lower portion I6 of the side frame I0 10 beneath the opening II isprovided with integral. flanges I'I and I8 (Fig. 2), extending laterallyin a horizontal plane, and, together with the upper edge of said portionIB, form a support or seat I9 for the spring assembly I3. 15

The spring assembly I3 is adapted to be inserted between the bolster I2and the spring seat I9. This assembly comprises a lower spring plate 2l,an upper spring plate 22, and a plurality of springs 23 between the twoplates. The spring 20 plates 2l, 22 may be, and preferably are,dup-licates of each other and are somewhat in the form of a four leafclover.

In the form of the deviceshown, the lower spring plate 2| is providedwith downwardly ex- 25 tending projections 24 that engage correspondingopenings 25 in the support or seat I9 for positioning said plate andspring assembly. In the construction shown, there are two of theseprojections on each plate, an inner one and an outer 30 one. The seat orsupport I9 may also be provided with upwardly extending projections 26,Fig. 1, which extend upwardly through corresponding openings 21 in thespring plate 2| for interlocking the parts together. On some sideframes, these 35 projections are omitted. On such structures, the shimsand spring plates need not have the correspending openings. If desired,the spring plate 2| may be provided with a circular flange 20, extendingabout the opening 21. 40

Any suitable number of springs are employed.

In the form of construction shown, in Fig. 3, the arrangement is suchthat ve springs are used, one at each corner of the spring group and onein the center. 'Ihe springs 23, of which 45 there are four, are of theconventional free acting helical type, and are seated at the cornerportions of the plate 2|. If desired, inner helical springs 30 may alsobe employed, as shown in Fig. 1. 50A

The central load-supporting spring 29, Fig. 1, is preferably, though notnecessarily, of the snubber type, whereby harmonic action of the springassembly is prevented. The plate 2l may, if desired, be provided withsuitable flanges 3l which 5v5 extend partially around the springs 23 onthe outer sides thereof, for positioning the same on the plate. Theupper spring plate 22 is substantially a duplicate of the lower springplate and similar parts are designated by the same reference characters.The projections 24 on the upper plate 22 are adapted to engage inrecesses 32 in the bolster I2 when the assembly is newly installed.

Since the details of the spring assembly constitute no part of thepresent invention, except as described above, a further description ofthis assembly is not thought necessary.

It is common in present practice, especially in trucks where the springsare supported on seats integral with the side frame, to employ a springassembly in which the overall width of the same is greater than thedistance between the columns I5, as shown in Fig. 2. `In order to removethe spring assembly from the side frame of such a construction it isnecessary to elevate the bolster a sufficient distance for removing thesprings, after which the plates may be removed by tilting or elevatingthe front or rear end so that they will take a diagonal position acrossthe bolster opening. This is necessary because the distance between thecolumns I5 is less than the overall Width of the plate, as clearly shownin Fig. 2 of the drawings.

When, after continued use, the spring assembly does not support thebolster I2 at a suncient height to maintain the coupler at the requireddistance from the rail, suitable means are inserted between the topplate 22 and the bolster I2. It is desirable that this means be soconstructed that it may be inserted without removing or disturbing thespring assembly, and at the same time be provided with means whereby itwill be retained in position when inserted between the bolster and thetop spring plate. Such a construction will now be described.

In the form of construction shown in Fig. 2, shim plates 33 are employedfor this purpose. These plates are so constructed that they correspondin shape to the spring plate 22, except that they are not provided withflanges for engaging the springs I3. The plate is provided with upwardlyextending projections 34, more or less cone shape, which are formed bypunching the metal upward, as shown in Fig. 3, to form recesses 35 onthe lower side and projections 34 on the upper side. These projectionsare adapted to engage in theopenings 32 on the under surface of thebolster I2, and the recesses 35 are adapted to receive the projectionsV24 on the spring plate 22. These shims may be provided with downwardlyextending projections 31, .which may be formed by punching the metaldownwardly, forming the recesses 38 on the upper side and theprojections 31 on the lower. The projections 31 are of such diameter asto engage in the openings 21 in the top spring plate 22.

These shim plates may be inserted either between the spring plate 22 andthe bolster I2, or they may be inserted between the spring assembly andthe seat portion I9 of the truck frame. If inserted below the lowerspring plate, the shim may be in the form of a unitary structure becausethe lower portion of opening I I below the bolster and above the trussflanges 4E is enlarged for receiving the spring plate as clearly shown'in Fig. 1 and the dimensions of this enlargement are such as to receivethe shim without tilting if the springs be rst removed. The shim platemay be inserted above the truss flanges 40 and dropped in position. But,if inserted between the lower spring plate and the seat I9, the springsmust be removed or the assembly must be lifted with the bolster and thesprings more or less compressed. This is objectionable because of thenumerous parts to maintain in proper position during the operation. Onthe other hand, if it be made in sections, means must be provided forholding the sections in position.

As shown, the shim plate 33 is made in sections, divided along the line.3Q-4I, Fig. 1, which is somewhat diagonal and leaves one of theprojections 34 on one section and the other projection 34 on the othersection. In order to insert Vthe shim in position beneath thev bolsterI2, it is only necessary to elevate the bolster and then put one of thesections in position with the projection 31 in the openings 21 of thespring plate 22 and the projection 24 of the spring plate in the recess32 in the shim and then place the other section in position in likemanner. The bolster is then lowered and the openings 32 therein willengage the projections 34 on the shim for locking the parts together. Itwill thus be seen that each shim plate section will be interlocked atthree different points with the spring plates 22 and that theinterlocking portions 32, 34 of one plate are arranged opposite those ofthe other whereby when the sections are assembled, these interlockingmembers cooperate to rigidly hold the assembled shim plate in positionon the upper spring plate 22. It will also be seen that the assembledshim plate sections and upper spring plate will function as a unitaryrigid plate of -increased thickness and will be held in position beneaththe bolster by the two interlocking connections shown at 32, 34. Iffurther elevation is necessary, a second shim 4I, Fig. 5, which is aduplicate of the shim 33, is inserted between the shim 33 and thebolster I2 and the parts will interlock in a similar manner as shown inFig. 5. Additional shims may be inserted in the same manner, ifrequired, or until the coupler hasbeen elevated to the desired height.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings, is shown a modied form of shim in which theparts are interlocked together. In this form of construction, the shim42 is divided into two sections 43 and 44, divided along the line 45-46,longitudinally of the bolster. The line 45-46 divides the plate so thatone of the projections 34' is on one section and the other projection 34on the othersection. Furthermore, .the meeting edges are such as to forma head 41 on one section which is adapted to engage in a correspondingrecess 48 in the other section, the head and recess being of such a formthat when they engage, they prevent separation of the sections bymovement in the plane of the sections. Furthermore, the heads 41 arearranged opposite the corresponding projections 34 as clearly shown inFig. 4 of the drawings. The shim is applied in the manner stated above.

While the spring plates 2| and 22 may be of the conventional contour, itis understood that the shape or contour of the same may be changed, asfor instance, the central portion. may have raised or depressed portionsfor positioning the central spring. But for simplicity of description,they are shown and described as being duplicates and the shims havecorresponding projections and depressions so that the shim plates willnest with the spring plates, as shown iny Figs. 1 and 3.

It will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 2 that the interlockingprojection 31 and depression 38 on eachshim section may be omitted, ifdesired,

since the projections 34 and corresponding recesses 35 will anchor theshim sections and the columns l5, l will prevent their rotation ineither direction.

It is thought from the foregoing taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings that the construction and operation of my devicewill be apparent to those skilled in the art and that changes in size,shape, proportion and details ol' construction may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A metallic sectional shim for use on railway trucks comprising aplurality of seating sections, means on each section for interlockingsaid sections together, and means for connecting each section, againstdisplacement, to both the conventional bolster and spring plate of arailway truck.

2. In a railway truck, a side frame having a bolster opening and aspring seat in said opening, a bolster extending into said opening, aspring assembly including a spring plate between said bolster andseat,and a shim between said bolster and plate and interlocked therewith,said shim comprising a plurality of sections interlocked with eachother.

3. In a railway truck, a side frame having a bolster opening and aspring seat within said opening, a bolster extending into said opening,a spring assembly between said bolster and seat, and a shim between saidbolster and assembly, said shim comprising a plurality of sections, eachsection being interlocked with both the bolster and the assembly, andmeans for detachably connecting said sections together. 1

4. In a railway truck having a side frame provided with an opening, abolster extending into said opening, columns for guiding the verticalmovement of said bolster, a spring seat on said frame beneath saidbolster, a. spring assembly between said bolster and seat, a springplate between said bolster'. and spring assembly, a sectional metal shimbetween said plate and bolster extending between said columns, said shimhaving its maximum dimensions longitudinally of said side frame at theinner and outer sides of said columns greater than the distance betweensaid columns whereby said columns will retain said shim in positionbeneath said bolster, cooperating interengaging means between saidsections and between each of said sections and said assembly and springplate.

5. In a railway truck, a side frame having a bolster opening, a bolsterextending into said opening, a spring assembly for supporting saidbolster from said side frame, a shim between said spring assembly andbolster and having means for interlocking with the conventionalinterlocking means on said bolster and spring assembly, said shim beingsplit along a diagonal line extending transversely of the truck so thata portion of said interlocking means is carried by each shim section.

6. In a railway truck, a side frame having a bolster opening, a columnat each side of said opening, and a spring seat within said opening, abolster extending into said opening, a spring assembly between saidbolster and seat, saidassembly comprising a plurality of springs, aspring plate engaging the upper ends of said springs, and a sectionalshim between said assemblyv and bolster, said shim when assembledbeneath said bolster being of greater linear dimension longitudinally ofsaid frame along lines extending parallel with said frame on the innerand outer sides thereof than the distance between said columns, each of'said shim sections having an interlocking connection with said bolsterand with said spring plate. f

7. In a railway truck, a side frame having an opening therein andcolumns at each side ofl said opening, a spring assembly seat, a springassembly within said opening and supported on said seat, said assemblycomprising a plurality of springs, a spring plate engaging the upperends of said springs, a bolster extending between said columns andsupported on said assembly, the widths of said assembly inwardly andoutwardly of said columns being greater than the distance between saidcolumns, a sectional shim between said assembly and bolster, and meansfor interlocking each of the shim sections with said bolster and saidspring plate and with one another.

ERIK G. NYLANDER.

